Should I freelance?

[Noorullah]

I am new to money making. 19 year old, full on gamer. I've made significant changes in my life, I've left gaming, I'm exercising now, learning new skills like SEO, digital marketing and WordPress. To learn how to market my skills, I'm reading a marketing book for online business purposes, it's a best seller called Dotcom Secrets by Russell Brunsen. I've read TMF . It woke me up to the slowlane of what it is. I want to work on my life and follow The Fastlane path, could i get suggestions and is freelancing a good idea in your experience?
Thank you - Noorullah

 

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[Lyzmin]

Hi Noorullah, Welcome!

At your age I left school and went into sales.
First 2 years into employment and at 21 I went freelance.
If you have low costs of living or a buffer definitely go freelance already.
If not, my suggestion is to work with a company until you've saved up 3-6 months of living.

I've made significant changes in my life, I've left gaming, I'm exercising now, learning new skills like SEO, digital marketing and WordPress. To learn how to market my skills, I'm reading a marketing book for online business purposes, it's a best seller called Dotcom Secrets by Russell Brunsen.

Great that you quit gaming! People don't always realise it is as addictive as drugs, gambling etc.
You'll find a lot of threads with awesome information and tips on developing your skills.

Good luck to you!

 

[circleme]

I am new to money making. 19 year old, full on gamer. I've made significant changes in my life, I've left gaming, I'm exercising now, learning new skills like SEO, digital marketing and WordPress. To learn how to market my skills, I'm reading a marketing book for online business purposes, it's a best seller called Dotcom Secrets by Russell Brunsen. I've read TMF . It woke me up to the slowlane of what it is. I want to work on my life and follow The Fastlane path, could i get suggestions and is freelancing a good idea in your experience?
Thank you - Noorullah

Hi Noorullah.

You are lucky to have such knowledge at this age. Most "gamers" - including me back in my early 20s - often see it as unproblematic, even though it's not. It's an addiction, as Lyzmin has already written. A very bad one, because it eats up your life time.

The book you are reading is extremely valuable. You can think what you want about ClickFunnels, but the basic principle of the Value Ladder is something that I don't think will change much in 50 years. Once you internalize that, it's incredibly beneficial to your Fastlane business.

But now to your real question:

Is freelancing a good idea?

I think it depends on the starting situation. If you have enough financial means to work on your fastlane business for a while (e.g. 1 year) without having to work for a regular income, then this would definitely be an option you could consider. If you are not in such a situation, I find the following video by MJ incredibly valuable:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_58zPgArb4&ab_channel=MJDeMarco


You don't have to be broke to use this "construct" for yourself, but it does describe one possible path. Freelancing is one way to build a specialized skill that you can use for your Fastlane business or even build a Fastlane business out of it. I went the way of the freelancer and still go it. The big advantage imho is that you have a much better time vs. money ratio than in an employee relationship. As an employee I would have to work 40 hours a week for XY$. As a freelancer I need only 8 hours for the same amount of XY. So you see, it buys you time, but it's still not the ultimate solution. Because even though this time vs. money trade is "better" than in an employee relationship, at the end of the day it's still a time vs. money trade. However, I think it's just fine as a stepping stone. I'm only at the very beginning of my Fastlane journey and have decided to cut back heavily on my freelancing "career" in order to devote the majority of my time to my Fastlane business.

I hope this has helped you to some extent.

tl;dr: Good decision that you stopped gaming and started reading good literature about online business. Freelancing is definitely a better option than being an employee. But at the end of the day it's still a job because of the time vs. money trade. Freelancing gives you more time to work on your Fastlane business.

 

[Noorullah]

You people encouraged me towards the fastlane, for that I thank you all. Great experience starting off on the Fastlane Forum +1
Appreciate your responses.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

@Kak - this is why there are freelancing posts here. I get they can be annoying, and certainly not CENTS based Fastlanes, but they don't force me to lose perspective.

Many of the newbies here are not American, likely because my books are newer in places where there are translations, for example, India where TMF was released in 2019.

This gentleman lives in Pakistan where jobs pay a few bucks per hour. There is no demand for Power washing and landscape services. And if there was, they'd pay $2/hour. A successful freelancer there might as well be paid as well as an American doctor.

What do you suggest for him? Avoid freelancing because an American entrepreneur living in his gated community with thousands of options available to him says so? I'm not being facetious, I'm genuinely curious how someone with limited options around him might gain some experience and capital.

Remember, offering a service or labor in Pakistan yields Pakistan rates. You can power wash your neighbor's windows for 4 schillings and buy a candy bar at the local street bazzar, or build a website for Joe American Dentist for $500, for one month's wages.

Our answers as Americans' cannot be the same as our answers to someone who lives in Mumbai or Islamabad.

 

[Kak]

@Kak - this is why there are freelancing posts here. I get they can be annoying, and certainly not CENTS based Fastlanes, but they don't force me to lose perspective.

Many of the newbies here are not American, likely because my books are newer in places where there are translations, for example, India where TMF was released in 2019.

This gentleman lives in Pakistan where jobs pay a few bucks per hour. There is no demand for Power washing and landscape services. And if there was, they'd pay $2/hour. A successful freelancer there might as well be paid as well as an American doctor.

What do you suggest for him? Avoid freelancing because an American entrepreneur living in his gated community with thousands of options available to him says so? I'm not being facetious, I'm genuinely curious how someone with limited options around him might gain some experience and capital.

Remember, offering a service or labor in Pakistan yields Pakistan rates. You can power wash your neighbor's windows for 4 schillings and buy a candy bar at the local street bazzar, or build a website for Joe American Dentist for $500, for one month's wages.

Our answers as Americans' cannot be the same as our answers to someone who lives in Mumbai or Islamabad.

For all intents and purposes, I look at this move, for someone making less than $500, as getting themselves a promotion. Of course they should. If there’s an option that legitimately makes your life better, frickin do it.

I take bigger issue with first world people believing that this is somehow their route to freedom. Dudes are competing with people happy with $500 a month.

This is totally different.

Scenario 1. Guy in an area with shit for opportunity can legitimately improve life by selling services to westerners.

Scenario 2. Super young kid wants to make some money while he/she gets educated.

Scenario 3. Someone with an actual responsibilities in a first world country reads your book, takes it clearly out of context and plans to quit their job to pursue freelance copywriting “because entrepreneurship.”

Scenario one and two are not entrepreneurship. They are just jobs. Like driving Uber being a better option than a call center job. Ones just a better job offer. Kids value flexibility because earning isn’t their first priority. It doesn’t bother me a bit. Almost a scrappy move.

Scenario three is a total disaster. That guy has to compete with 1 and 2. The guy is screwed.

The question and frustration isn’t coming from the fact that this entire industry exists. It’s that the discussion is happening here, of all places, a forum devoted to bold and life changing entrepreneurship. Yet, more often than not, scenario three has cheerleaders.

 

[Xavier X]

Remember, offering a service or labor in Pakistan yields Pakistan rates. You can power wash your neighbor's windows for 4 schillings and buy a candy bar at the local street bazzar, or build a website for Joe American Dentist for $500, for one month's wages.

Our answers as American's cannot be the same as our answers to someone who lives in Mumbai or Islamabad.

More like 2-5 months of wages in India and Pakistan. I once had a part-time team of Indian and Pakistani writers who did simple short-form writing. 100-word informal writing, where they just googled basic steps for certain DIY things in a specific industry and expressed the steps in 100 words. They worked 5 days a week, about 4 hours/day or less, depending how fast they finished their writing for that day.

They were paid $300-400/month. It was a relatively easy part-time job, and some of them described the job to me as "a dream job." While the wages are very low from an American perspective, the average wage in India is in the $100-200/month range, working full time at a grueling job. Full time call center workers in the Philippines servicing American businesses typically earn $300-400/month.

For someone in those places who has a freelance gig making $500/month, they're ahead of most of their population. Sure, it shouldn't be a target ambition to just be better than average, but it can be a starting point in their journey to actual business.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

If I were OP reading DotCom Secrets (learning funnel marketing) and also learning Wordpress, I would build my own funnels for my own digital products.

I'd spend time learning what a niche is, and then spend time coming up with a niche digital product for little to no out-of-pocket expenses that I could funnel people to. There are a number of these described in step-by-step fashion throughout this forum.

If money is an issue, I'd leverage free systems like tiktok + MailCheat(Chimp) + paypal to a digital product made in Canva. < - That's a basic funnel with complete traffic to sales to delivery system. Once I had sales, then I'd also leverage paid traffic systems.

That would be way more controllable, scalable, and eventually, predictable and profitable than freelancing will ever be. Plus, it can grow into a business that produces wealth rather than rent and can later be sold depending on the setup.

 

[Noorullah]

@Kak - this is why there are freelancing posts here. I get they can be annoying, and certainly not CENTS based Fastlanes, but they don't force me to lose perspective.

Many of the newbies here are not American, likely because my books are newer in places where there are translations, for example, India where TMF was released in 2019.

This gentleman lives in Pakistan where jobs pay a few bucks per hour. There is no demand for Power washing and landscape services. And if there was, they'd pay $2/hour. A successful freelancer there might as well be paid as well as an American doctor.

What do you suggest for him? Avoid freelancing because an American entrepreneur living in his gated community with thousands of options available to him says so? I'm not being facetious, I'm genuinely curious how someone with limited options around him might gain some experience and capital.

Remember, offering a service or labor in Pakistan yields Pakistan rates. You can power wash your neighbor's windows for 4 schillings and buy a candy bar at the local street bazzar, or build a website for Joe American Dentist for $500, for one month's wages.

Our answers as Americans' cannot be the same as our answers to someone who lives in Mumbai or Islamabad.

MJ Demarco , I love your cents framework , you've opened my mind to the concept of money like no other. I'm grateful (=

 

[Noorullah]

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to reply to my thread. Your input and opinions are much appreciated and I value the insights you have shared.
It is great to know that there are people out there who are willing to offer their support and contribute to discussions. Your quick response has made a difference and I'm grateful for your contributions.
Your advice and encouragement are truly appreciated

Best Regards,
Noorullah

 

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[Noorullah]

If I were OP reading DotCom Secrets (learning funnel marketing) and also learning Wordpress, I would build my own funnels for my own digital products.

I'd spend time learning what a niche is, and then spend time coming up with a niche digital product for little to no out-of-pocket expenses that I could funnel people to. There are a number of these described in step-by-step fashion throughout this forum.

If money is an issue, I'd leverage free systems like tiktok + MailCheat(Chimp) + paypal to a digital product made in Canva. < - That's a basic funnel with complete traffic to sales to delivery system. Once I had sales, then I'd also leverage paid traffic systems.

That would be way more controllable, scalable, and eventually, predictable and profitable than freelancing will ever be. Plus, it can grow into a business that produces wealth rather than rent and can later be sold depending on the setup.

@Lex DeVille You're awesome, Thank you for the Suggestion!

 

[Noorullah]

For all intents and purposes, I look at this move, for someone making less than $500, as getting themselves a promotion. Of course they should. If there’s an option that legitimately makes your life better, frickin do it.

I take bigger issue with first world people believing that this is somehow their route to freedom. Dudes are competing with people happy with $500 a month.

This is totally different.

Scenario 1. Guy in an area with shit for opportunity can legitimately improve life by selling services to westerners.

Scenario 2. Super young kid wants to make some money while he/she gets educated.

Scenario 3. Someone with an actual responsibilities in a first world country reads your book, takes it clearly out of context and plans to quit their job to pursue freelance copywriting “because entrepreneurship.”

Scenario one and two are not entrepreneurship. They are just jobs. Like driving Uber being a better option than a call center job. Ones just a better job offer. Kids value flexibility because earning isn’t their first priority. It doesn’t bother me a bit. Almost a scrappy move.

Scenario three is a total disaster. That guy has to compete with 1 and 2. The guy is screwed.

The question and frustration isn’t coming from the fact that this entire industry exists. It’s that the discussion is happening here, of all places, a forum devoted to bold and life changing entrepreneurship. Yet, more often than not, scenario three has cheerleaders.

I read your post about Copywriting and Freelancing , it did light bulbs for me .
You replying to this thread with the Scenarios explanation, gave me more clarification. Thank you!

 

[Noorullah]

For all intents and purposes, I look at this move, for someone making less than $500, as getting themselves a promotion. Of course they should. If there’s an option that legitimately makes your life better, frickin do it.

I take bigger issue with first world people believing that this is somehow their route to freedom. Dudes are competing with people happy with $500 a month.

This is totally different.

Scenario 1. Guy in an area with shit for opportunity can legitimately improve life by selling services to westerners.

Scenario 2. Super young kid wants to make some money while he/she gets educated.

Scenario 3. Someone with an actual responsibilities in a first world country reads your book, takes it clearly out of context and plans to quit their job to pursue freelance copywriting “because entrepreneurship.”

Scenario one and two are not entrepreneurship. They are just jobs. Like driving Uber being a better option than a call center job. Ones just a better job offer. Kids value flexibility because earning isn’t their first priority. It doesn’t bother me a bit. Almost a scrappy move.

Scenario three is a total disaster. That guy has to compete with 1 and 2. The guy is screwed.

The question and frustration isn’t coming from the fact that this entire industry exists. It’s that the discussion is happening here, of all places, a forum devoted to bold and life changing entrepreneurship. Yet, more often than not, scenario three has cheerleaders.

I read your post about Copywriting and Freelancing , it did light bulbs for me .
You replying to this thread with the Scenarios explaination, gave me more clarification. Thank you!

 

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[Noorullah]

I'll add in that whenever I get into technical processes, I find them easy to understand. Glory be to God. I'm skilled in troubleshooting computer systems and have a basic understanding of networks. In the near future, I aim to become a successful fast laner and plan to learn copywriting to market , get sales. As experts, I would be privileged to receive suggestions from you all to help me become an entrepreneur. I have a basic knowledge of programming and built a computer rig by collecting parts and putting them together when I was 14. I've solved various technical issues such as BSODs and gained experience. When I was 12, I installed Windows XP on an outdated 2002 computer using three bootable USBs. That was an exciting process for me and sparked my enthusiasm for computer technology. I pursued computer science in school with excellent academic results. However, I later lost interest in computers and became deeply invested in gaming. Watching self-improvement videos on YouTube by Hamza and reading books like "The Millionaire Fastlane " and "Dotcom Secrets" changed my mindset from a slow lane or sidewalk life towards fast lane business mentality. I am now studying Business Data Analytics at university to increase my knowledge in order to grow and maintain a business and stay connected to computers as well. At first, I considered studying BBA, but eventually chose BDA. My goal in attending university is to grow my knowledge in terms of businesses, not to increase my intrinsic value. I'm not bragging, but I just wanted to share my journey. I am very naive when it comes to the experiences of successful individuals, as I have never earned a dime in my life. But, with God's guidance, I hope to stay on the correct path. The Fastlane forum is a very exciting place where great entrepreneurs like you all come together.

 

[ZackerySprague]

In my personal opinion, I think you should Dump DotCom Secrets and read The Great Rat Race Escape , followed by Unscripted .

In The Great Rat Race escape , their is a principle out of the 120 that describes the steps of how to beat the rat race anchors. The first is called Second-Order Specialized Unit -> This basically means you should learn a highly valuable skill such as Web Design. Web Design is how most actually have started, but it still depends on your time.

The next thing up from that is to create a specialized-unit or as the book calls it the First-Order Specialized Unit. This can be a product, app, service, or software that can be created and sold independently of your time. But each of these unit's needs a business system to be combined or else no one will be able to see what you have created.

You need to become a problemologist, solving problems that arise either in your life or the marketplace.

If you read the books, I promise you, you will be all set!

Read the books in the following order:

1. 10th Year Anniversary Edition - The Millionaire Fastlane
2. Unscripted .
3. The Great Rat Race Escape .

And as per extra:
1. The Wealth Exposed is also a GREAT short read.

 

[ZackerySprague]

I am new to money making. 19 year old, full on gamer. I've made significant changes in my life, I've left gaming, I'm exercising now, learning new skills like SEO, digital marketing and WordPress. To learn how to market my skills, I'm reading a marketing book for online business purposes, it's a best seller called Dotcom Secrets by Russell Brunsen. I've read TMF. It woke me up to the slowlane of what it is. I want to work on my life and follow The Fastlane path, could i get suggestions and is freelancing a good idea in your experience?
Thank you - Noorullah

Also to keep track of your goals GoalSumo.com.com is a great resource that was created by MJ and another person on this form.

If you are looking to get into a specialized skill going check out the Fox Web School. It's a great foundation to get you going and their is a huge community. I think the subscription is like $95 dollars a month? Very low barrier to entry. But definitely very valuable.

 

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[Noorullah]

Also to keep track of your goals GoalSumo.com.com is a great resource that was created by MJ and another person on this form.

If you are looking to get into a specialized skill going check out the Fox Web School. It's a great foundation to get you going and their is a huge community. I think the subscription is like $95 dollars a month? Very low barrier to entry. But definitely very valuable.

Appreciate it , Thanks @ZackerySprague

 

[ZackerySprague]

Appreciate it , Thanks @ZackerySprague

Anytime, glad to help.

 

[Andy Black]

Skimmed the thread.

My main takeaways:

• You're highly computer and data savvy.
• You've excellent written English.
• You're driven and competitive (you play/played games).
• You've an internet connection and a desktop.
• You're 19 livng in Pakistan.
• You're reading (and enjoying?) Dot Com Secrets.

Check out the second and third row of links in my signature (and maybe the first).




If the Google Ads stuff resonates then consider that as a freelance skill. It suits IT literate and data savvy folks who like games (the game of creating little profitable machines that run on autopilot for years after).

This thread in particular outlines my strategy:

• How to get profitable or fail fast with AdWords

This thread shows how fast and simply you can start:

• Growing an email list with Google Ads

Worried freelancing isn't a businesss?

Check out these podcasts, the first one in particular:

• www.tropicalmba.com/services
• www.tropicalmba.com/scale
• www.tropicalmba.com/consulting

In that first one there's a sliding scale like:

Employee
-> Contractor/Freelancer
-> Consultancy/Agency
-> Productised Service
-> Platform


High level plan:

1. Get some valuable skills (ideally by consulting to clients rather than taking courses and doing certifications).
2. Figure out how to get paid.
3. Scale.

Business is simple:

• Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
• Start. Sell. Scale.

** Business gets complicated because we don't keep it simple. **


Good luck!

 

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